Ria Sengupta Bhatt

Ria joined the Foundation in February 2020. As Director of Public Policy, she is responsible for directing the development and implementation of the foundation’s public policy initiatives, advancing equitable student success policies at state and institutional levels, engaging policymakers, and directing related research and evaluation efforts.

Ria previously served as interim executive director and deputy director at California Competes, a policy research and advocacy organization focused on improving higher education and workforce outcomes. She worked as a consultant to clients in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors at strategic learning firm Informing Change, and currently serves on the board. She was a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California and currently serves on its Higher Education Advisory Council.  Most recently, she consulted to Project Attain, an initiative to improve educational attainment for working-age adults in California’s Capital region. She co-designed and implemented the launch of the initiative, and directed Project Attain’s participation in Degrees When Due, a nationwide project to re-engage adult learners led by the Institute for Higher Education Policy.

Ria holds a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and a B.A. in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.